No matter the circumstances, the end of the year eventually arrives. For many, the year-end and New Year’s holidays provide a chance to take a break from work or studies and spend relaxing time back at their hometowns.
Last year, I received strict orders from my parents in Saitama to “absolutely come home this year” after the dungeon disaster incident. Of course, this was followed by “and bring Mars and Yuri-chan with you.”
Although the company is going through a rough patch, I figured it would be fine to unwind during the year-end holidays. So once again, I took a taxi back to my childhood home in the countryside. However, my parents, who were excitedly waiting with a home-cooked meal, ended up being charmed by the new face Sierra instead.
“Sierra, would you like some peanuts?”
“Yes, yes!”
Despite me warning them in advance about bringing an additional housemate, my parents were perhaps a bit too accepting. The enigmatic Sierra blended seamlessly into the Kawashima household in Chiba as if she were Mars’ relative, without anyone questioning her background.
She happily accepted food from my mother and obediently sat while my father stroked her fur. My staunchly cat-person father seemed to have completely converted to being a dog-person, doting on Sierra with my mother.
“Tonbo’s place seems like so much fun every day. Maybe we should get another cat or dog too, dear?”
“Weren’t you the one adamantly against it after our last cat Maa-chan passed away?”
“Well, yeah, I felt that way back then…”
Leaving Sierra to my parents, Mars and I drank and watched the slightly understaffed year-end comedy special while relaxed voices drifted in from the kitchen where Princess and my sister Chieri were out shopping nearby.
The warm living room filled with the BGM of my parents’ mellow conversation and Sierra’s excited chirps over her novel treats. Then a certain commercial aired during the TV program.
[…Connecting hearts from window to window. Connecting people to space – Kawashima General Trading.]
“Oh! There it is!”
“You’ve seen it so many times though.”
“Yeah, but it’s our company’s commercial! I’ll never get tired of it.”
True to her “leave it to me” words, Princess wasted no time taking action.
She immediately produced a commercial for the drone delivery service and aggressively marketed it to a TV station that had just lost a sponsor. The crisp, professional-looking commercial with its purposefully vague B2B content belied its overnight editing by Princess’s hands.
“Yuri chan sure is amazing. She said that it’s a tiny company when she arrived last summer, but now the company already running commercials and everything.”
“You’re absolutely right, she’s been so good to Tonbo, helping him find a job…”
To my parents, Kawashima was less my company and more Princess’s, regardless of the name. Well, it’s true the company wouldn’t last a day without her. While part of me feels a tinge of displeasure, it’s not worth getting worked up over correcting them.
As I pondered this, watching a commercial for a smartphone game Mars was playing, his tail suddenly swatted at my feet under the kotatsu.
“Hey, didn’t Tonbo say he was going to bring something back with him?”
“Ah, yeah. I said to Princess that I was going to take that old game console to her.”
“You’ll get in trouble if you forget it. Why don’t you put it in your bag now?”
“Ugh…but I don’t want to get out of the kotatsu.”
“If you keep drinking, you’ll forget. Just go get it. And grab a couple more beers while you’re at it.”
Even though I thought he just didn’t want to get the beers himself…I lifted my firmly planted bottom out of the kotatsu, and Mars waved her little paw, saying “See you later~”
As I headed out to the hallway, shivering at the cold floor, Sierra, who my parents had been looking after, turned to face me.
“Where are you going, Tonbo?”
“My room.”
“Sierra’s coming too.”
“Alright, but there’s nothing there.”
Even after saying that, Sierra insisted on coming, so I headed upstairs to my room with her, where futons for her and Mars had been prepared.
Princess was going to stay in Chieri’s room…but at this rate, Sierra might end up there too.
“Ah, it’s so dusty…”
As I pulled out a dust-covered plastic box from under the bed, Sierra let out a tiny sneeze beside me.
Opening the lid of the box with radio show stickers from middle school, it was filled with nostalgic treasures from the past.
A model kit with missing parts, a transforming hero’s belt, a stub from a concert with friends, an audio player with dead batteries. As I gazed at them nostalgically, Sierra peeked over my shoulder, sniffling.
“What’s this?”
Sierra pointed a short finger at a colorful tin can.
“A prize toy from a snack contest.”
“And this?”
“Drumsticks. Never actually practiced with them though.”
“And this?”
“A digital camera. Oh, I wonder if the old data is still on there?”
I picked up the camera I had brought on my high school trip and took out the memory card. I should transfer it to my phone later.
“What’s that?”
Sierra sniffled as she brought her face close to the card.
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“It has old pictures of me on it.”
“Old Tonbo?”
“Yeah.”
Come to think of it, Sierra was practically a newborn baby. The concept of ‘the past’ might not click for her yet.
“I wonder if the batteries still work…”
I took batteries from a TV remote left on the bed and put them in the camera after inserting the memory card. The battery charge indicator showed about a third remaining.
“Here, this is me from back then.”
The camera’s screen displayed me and my friends from the Tokyo trip. I don’t feel too nostalgic about it yet, but I wonder if a day will come when photos like these seem precious.
“That’s Tonbo.”
“Yeah. Cameras let you keep memories like this. Want to try taking pictures too, Sierra?”
“Uh huh.”
“Then…do you want this camera? I can give it to you.”
“Want it, want it.”
“Alright, I’ll just copy the data later then.”
Handing the camera to Sierra, she looked at it with interest, turning it over in her hands.
Meanwhile, I searched for my old handheld game console and charger. Finally finding the system and games buried in the cluttered box, I plopped down on the floor to catch my breath.
“Found them at last.”
“How do you use this?”
“Well, you…WOAH!!”
I let out a yell and nearly threw the game console across the room.
Sierra had transformed from her dog form into a human – and was completely naked, of course.
I quickly covered her with the futon my parents had left out.
“Why did you transform?!”
“Fingers couldn’t reach.”
I guess dog paws wouldn’t work well with a camera, but…
“You can’t transform out here!”
“This is home.”
“Either way, change back…!”
“Hey, you’re being loud! …Oh, who’s this kid?!”
My mom had heard the commotion and came into the room, leading to a whole big mess.
Seeing the child-like but naked Sierra with a camera…I endured a nerve-wracking experience of having my parents question my tastes, to put it lightly.
Well, the huge chaos calmed down by evening…We had a delicious hot pot with the chicken Princess bought and drank rice wine while watching a music program, slurping down cup noodle soba for New Year’s Eve. The last day of the year 22 of the Lost Calendar passed calmly.
After seeing Princess and Sierra off to Chieri’s room, I went to sleep cuddling Mars, ushering in the start of the year 23 of the Lost Calendar.
For some reason my parents gave Chieri and Sierra New Year’s money, but not me – I can’t say I’m too pleased about that. After that unfair treatment, we ended up going to visit a local shrine on New Year’s Day before returning to Tokyo, but…
“So Tonbo, how’d you like seeing Princess all dressed up in a kimono?”
“Well…she looked incredibly beautiful, yes.”
“Uh huh.”
“Foreign girls really do look different in them, huh?”
“Amazing, amazing! Yuri chan, let’s take pictures!”
For some reason, Princess was wearing an old kimono that supposedly belonged to my mom.
I mean, Princess is incredibly gorgeous, so I get wanting to dress her up. But still, They’d only met twice, so my family was being a bit too familiar, I thought.
At any rate, escorting Princess-like Hime, the local shrine was quite crowded when we arrived. In the few years since I’d last been there, it seemed the town had become more globalized, with people from other worlds dotting the crowd – a sight I don’t recall from before.
“There were way more people at that shrine in Tokyo last year.”
“Oh yeah Princess, what was it like last year?”
“Last year…Tonbo kept saying we should save money, but he was the first one chowing down at the food stalls.”
Well, I really was broke back then…Thanks to Princess, I don’t have to worry about food stall snacks anymore. Sierra could happily munch on yakisoba and a frankfurter in each hand.
“So what were you praying for? What did you wish for, Tonbo?”
“Everyone’s health, I guess.”
“I’ll go with that too.”
“Me too.”
The two girls who hardly believe in gods just went along with my suggestion…Well, I guess there’s nothing wrong with a family wishing for that together.
Health is important, after all.
“Wish?”
Only Sierra looked up at me with a puzzled expression.
“Ah, you see, there’s a god at this shrine. At the start of the year, we greet them and make a small wish.”
“Which god? Ultira? Easy-Heart?”
“Those must be gods from other worlds. The god here is a Japanese one.”
“Who?”
“Um? Who is it…?”
I looked around frantically, but the crowds made any signs hard to read. Embarrassed, I simply told Sierra “I don’t know.”
“Wishing to an unknown god?”
“Pretty much. If I was really interested, I’d visit the shrine more than once a year.”
“You make a fair point…”
Princess admonished me in her elegant kimono, and I had no retort. I’m not particularly devout, but…I should probably look up the origin of this local shrine. Lost in those thoughts, I halfheartedly made my wish facing the shrine.
After the visit, my mom and sister excitedly took Sierra shopping for clothes at the local mall – spending freely from my wallet, of course. By the time we returned by taxi packed with bags, my wallet was empty in stark contrast.
Oh well, I guess providing for family counts as being a good son. I listened absently to their lively chattering from the back seat.
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